Study Calligraphy after the Holidays!

Join me in an online zoom class at Stanford Continuing Studies

Art 50
Calligraphy and Letterform: History, Methods, and Practice

February 7 - March 13, 2024
Six Wednesdays — 7:00 - 8:50pm Pacific Time

REGISTRATION OPENS DECEMBER 4, 2023

ART 50 is an invaluable introduction to calligraphy practice specifically designed for enthusiastic beginning and intermediate students as well as returning artists who finally have time to spend at the drawing board! It is an extensive overview, covering the main aspects of the field of handwritten letterform and text art, as well as an intro to the nomenclature and design terms that are involved in talking about and critiquing letterform art. The two-hour demos show how to use the tools and media, how to do the assignments, and are backed up by extensive reference documents and visual history. Videos are available for the entire quarter, and my presence online in the asynchronous Canvas LMS continues for the entire time.

I spend individual time with each student as they post, offering feedback, suggestions, and next steps. See my web page for images and more info!

Two weights - Meditation on line and juncture

Blackletter Brunch

The next zoom meeting of Blackletter Brunch will be tomorrow, Sunday, August 13th at 10:00 AM PDT.

I was asked to talk about my art and will be sharing unpublished work from every phase over the decades, leading up to recent projects and current plans. Previews of my Norse Runes class coming in Fall ‘23 to Stanford Continuing Studies will be included. I hope you can come!

Blackletter Brunch is a monthly online get-together of calligraphers. It started locally at a coffee house in Half Moon Bay, with friends gathering and sharing their work. With the pandemic it migrated to Zoom, and here we are.

Topic: Blackletter Brunch
Time: Aug 13, 2023 10:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83909192218?pwd=alB2WEtOYVVwbnRtMFcrcjVtc2dvdz09

Meeting ID: 839 0919 2218
Passcode: 8Cihww

Friends of Calligraphy member and calligrapher Raoul Martinez is our moderator.

New publication - The Art of Language

The Art of Language has just been published by The Lonely Planet and is available on their website. I wrote out ten scripts for them: Armenian, Burmese, Cherokee, Cree, Ge’ez or Ethiopic, Hangul, Javanese, Sandhangan, Lontara, and N’ko. Nothing fancy, just basic accurate letters. It is a book that aims to familiarize travelers with languages they may encounter, introduce them to the written form, and helps to facilitate conversation between cultures. An indigenous proverb is provided for each script, which can then be copied. Tracing pages are provided, as well as ductus and tool suggestions.

https://shop.lonelyplanet.com/products/the-art-of-language-1

I have a small supply of these books on hand and will be happy to sign and send you one for cost plus shipping and handling. Just send an email inquiry.

Printed on Silk

This year I’ve started printing my paintings digitally on silk.
The scarves will be hemmed and ready to give or wear. Work in progress!

Runic Alphabet Workshop - 12/09/19

A NEW one-day workshop coming up! Runes are fun to study, and a great introduction to calligraphy and handlettering! In this workshop we will explore the 2,000-year-old Anglo-Saxon Runic alphabet, also called Futhark, along with other ancient northern European scripts such as Ogham.

These scripts are simple and geometric, and ideal for working with spacing and design, and can be written with any tool: ruling pen, brush, broad edged pen, monoline, or pointed pen. I’ll demonstrate ways to use the tools!. We also explore wet and dry media to experiment with color. See SFBC.org’s website page to check on registration and materials. Write out your holiday gift tags and place cards using Viking Runes or Celtic Ogham.

Beginners welcome, but it helps to be a fanatic for letter shapes, ink, and making your mark!

COLA PEN MAKING & WRITING WORKSHOP - 10/18/19

A one-day experimental workshop coming up! Learn to make a cola pen and write with it. We explore the basic strokes and zones of the pen blade for markmaking and gesture, and study a variety of ruling pen alphabets. Use body language to drive the strokes and exercises to target placement. Work with pattern, movement, spacing and composition. We also explore wet and dry media to experiment with color. See SFBC.org’s website page to check on registration and materials. Students come away with organic and gestural text art as well as signature or name art.

No prior experience needed, but it helps to be a fanatic for letter shapes, ink, and making your mark!

Shifting weights and rhythm, staying loose and unconnected, fluctuating baseline

MODERN VERSALS WORKSHOP at SFCB

My next workshop at San Francisco Center for the Book is Modern Versals. We design and make a modern illuminated letter! Beginners to advanced students will explore historical models, study the anatomy of the built-up or drawn letter through models of contemporary English Versals and others, and let a new letterform emerge organically. Contemporary, rough, elegant, or wacky, your letter will have personal impact. Discover the deep potential of the single letterform while discussing design, color, stroke order, spacing, interval, white space, edges, penholds, and everything new that occurs in the process!

Line, shape, form, enclosure, texture, and color…in that order.

The Art of Language

Last month I was commissioned to write out 9 alphabet scripts for a new book, The Art of Language. It will be published in November 2019 by Lonely Planet, a company that designs and publishes travel guide books as well as travel apps. I researched and provided complete alphabets, a proverb written out, and a workbook style page with guidelines and ductus for those wanting to become more familiar with world scripts. I contributed the pages for Armenian, Cherokee, Cree, Burmese, Ge’ez, Lontara, Hangul, Javanese, and N’ko. It looks like it will be a helpful resource for calligraphers!

Here is an advance proof section on the Armenian script. It is scheduled to be available in November 2019.